What dual video graphics card should I choose?...

[luissantos]

My choices were Matrox P650, ATI Radeon, or Asus... but I don't know if there are more good choices...

I don't need a very powerfull card because it will be used mainly for working with digital audio on a music studio and a bit of Photoshop (And watch a DVD once in a while of course). I really need 2 indepent outputs for Audio programs.

Any recommendations?...

Thanks in advance...


Luis Santos

 

[Lonyo]

Do you need dual DVI outputs?

If not, then go for a Radeon card, because they have good DVD playback, 2D quality and can perform in games too.

The Parhelia isn't the greatest of cards in terms of speed, but you can get it (I think) with dual DVI, and it has good 2D quality.

ASUS I think make nVidia cards, which can have slightly worse 2D, but the gaming performance might not be too bad, you can also get some dual DVI GF 4's from some people if you need that.

Overall though, a Radeon 9xxx card would be my advise because of the 2D, DVD stuff. Something like a 9600/9600Pro if you don't need that much power. Also, you can get a passively cooled 9600 non-pro if noise is an issue.
It will also be DX9 compatible, so if you decide to go for Longhorn as your OS in the future, of do ever want to game, you should be able to.

 

[luissantos]

Thanks a lot for the help!

No, I really don't need two dvi outputs, analogs will be just fine.

I've been thinking, since I'm going to spend a lot of money on a new fast PC, I'll only use one monitor for now, so maybe I'm going to buy a simple one video output graphics card. Later, I'll then switch the graphics card and buy the 2nd TFT screen.

What would you recommend, talking about a simple one analog output video card, with a good price but also with a good power? Should I go Matrox or ATI ?...

Thanks

Luis Santos

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: luissantos
Thanks a lot for the help!

No, I really don't need two dvi outputs, analogs will be just fine.

I've been thinking, since I'm going to spend a lot of money on a new fast PC, I'll only use one monitor for now, so maybe I'm going to buy a simple one video output graphics card. Later, I'll then switch the graphics card and buy the 2nd TFT screen.

What would you recommend, talking about a simple one analog output video card, with a good price but also with a good power? Should I go Matrox or ATI ?...

Thanks

Luis Santos

What will you be using it for? Games, dvd playback, 2d?

 

[SUOrangeman]

In case you reconsider going with dual DVI, ...

-SUO

 

[luissantos]

I'll mostly use it for 2D (The computer will be used for Audio).

Luis Santos

 

[lameaway]

Have a look at Leadtek's A340td. It's an FX5200 card, which is fast enough for most games, and it has one VGA output and one DVI/VGA out. It supports dual displays via nView. Only $80, and Leadtek has a reputation for quality hardware.

 

[fr]

Just get a Matrox G400/450/550.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: fr
Just get a Matrox G400/450/550.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Originally posted by: Schadenfroh

Originally posted by: fr
Just get a Matrox G400/450/550.

The G550 has the best consumer-level 2D, bar none.

- M4H

 

[lameaway]

Yeah, the Matrox cards do have really nice image quality. Be warned, though, that their 3D performance blows chunks.

 

[thraxes]

for what you're going to be using it for: Matrox